New Year's Day
by AfricanSavannah
Summary: Pre series, the sand sibs spend every Christmas together.  2 years, on from Kankuro's POV and one from Gaara's.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>For the following prompt: "Angsty. Preferably something preseries, but OP isn't picky."<br>It's ANGSTy, just like you wanted.  
>2 years, 2 POV<p>

It's a tradition and tradition is important to their father, so they spend the day together in the living room of the family home where Gaaara doesn't live. Gaara has always liked New Year's Day, Temari and Kankuro spend most years trying to get out of it, or at the very least being as quiet and unobjectionable as possible, so that Gaara has no more reasons to want to be rid of them.

Gaara - 4

It's New Year's Day again and Yashamaru leads him into a house that is only vaguely familiar. It's a strange place, very clean, there is no sand on the floor or in any of the little cracks or crevices. When Gaara stretches his chakra out it meets nothing, there is no soft, warm hum of sand. Gaara is in the middle of the desert, but the only things soothing are his Uncle and the gourd on his back. They are quickly shown into the living room by a servant, another room that is bizarrely clean. Gaara shivers a little as he glances around.

"Calm down Gaara, you like it here, remember?"

Gaara doesn't really remember anything but makes a small noise of agreement. It isn't long before the door swings open and his siblings come in. No one mentions it when Kankuro takes 10 minute toilet breaks every half-hour. Gaara's too young, too lonely, to pick up on anything but the fact that Kankuro always comes back. Temari huddles up to their father, Gaara thinks Temari must be shy, but she's not running either.

Kankuro - 9

Kankuro wakes up on New Year's Day with a groan and a quick glance at the calendar in case he has somehow got the date mixed up. He hasn't, this year at least he is prepared. Poisons are more versatile than most people think. Kankuro has mastered all the poisons he uses, he had too; it is all too easy to nick yourself with a weapon. Many with potential have died that way, but not Kankuro, he knows the effects of each poison, the dosage, the antidote. Perhaps most importantly he knows which traces they leave behind and how to get rid of them. Shinobi rely on stealth and deception, and he and Temari rely on each other.

He measures the dosages out carefully drop by drop with a pipette. He tests the antidote, taking a sample of poison; adding iodine; adding the antidote drop by drop until the solution darkens as the poison is broken down into starch molecules and amino acids. He takes Temari her breakfast, unusual, but nothing is normal on this day so he knows she won't suspect anything. She wouldn't suspect him of lacing her food with a fatal dose of poison, and at least one of them has to be convincing. And what is more convincing than trustworthy, reliable Temari telling the truth.

He flinches when Temari starts to panic slightly, her hands grasping at anything to keep steady. His throat is tight and he feels disgusted by himself, but he presses a glass of water containing the antidote into her hand. She sips from it slowly, he knows the dizziness will be fading soon, and the same fever that burns him will soon burn her. It really is for her own good though. It's safe he's tested a hundred times, but when Temari looks up at him with frightened eyes because she doesn't know that and he can't tell, he just wants to curl up and die.  
>She must have mistaken it for something else though, because her still cool hands reach for him.<p>

"Do you feel sick?"

He nods, their condition is bad enough to land them in hospital for the day, after 20 hours or so it would mysteriously clear up. He crawls into bed next to her, so they can huddle together, someone will find them and he feels so tired. He's won though, no one will be able to recognise their symptoms, the medic-nins will have to keep them in hospital in case their condition becomes worse.

When Kankuro wakes up Temari isn't beside him. He can smell blood and at least 3 different antidotes, more if they're not for mixed poisons. They're in the hospital, he feels tired, floaty, but not all that bad, he'd be willing to put up with a lot more. When he opens his eyes the first thing he sees his father. The man isn't pleased, but Kankuro knows he didn't leave any evidence.

"New year's day is for family."

The words make no sense in Kankuro's head until he glances to his left slightly and jumps. Gaara. He's not supposed to be here, he's supposed to be at home with Yashamaru. He isn't surprised when his father walks out leaving them alone together. Gaara spends the next half hour sitting far too close in silence, and all that's running through Kankuro's mind is that he has put himself in a position where he can't run and he can't fight back.

It's ridiculously hard to keep himself awake, but no matter how powerless he is now, he wants to be awake at least when -if- Gaara decides to kill him. Gaara isn't much more than a red -blood-coloured- blur, but some part of Kankuro screams everytime he lets his eyes drift further out of focus. It's Gaara who eventually breaks the silence.

"You can't run like this, can you?"

He sounds pleased, interested, and Kankuro wants to scream that he has no chance anyway and never did have any hope of surviving Gaara. He just shakes his head and whispers quietly.

"No, I can't."

Gaara just tilts his head and watches him some more.

"I didn't think you could."

The rest of the day passes in a blur of tiredness and those terrifying moments when Kankuro hovers just on the edge of sleep, pulling back just in time as Gaara watches with interest.


End file.
